


Summer night embrace

by Yohao88



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, RinHaru Week 2018, Rinharu Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17111309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yohao88/pseuds/Yohao88
Summary: When one look can mean more than a thousand words. When words are so not enough they are not even needed. When the whole world knows, even you.





	Summer night embrace

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the 6th day of RinHaruWeek 2018, for the prompt "FRIENDS: Bonds". Hope you like it. ~♥

Few feelings could be better than that.

Hard to breath, hard to hear anything, even hard to believe what was happening.

The huge crowd in the water palace, celebrating with great applauses, the tears, the hugs from all the teammates and maybe even the coach, because of that number next to their team’s name at the very top of the time chart. A gold medal to the Japanese medley relay team during a world championship. It felt so unbelievable it bordered a dream.

Yet all they could do was stare at each other, while assaulted by all their friends, a light smile on their radiant faces, shadowed by a hint of doubt and fear, while they stood a good half a meter far from each other, aware that their own feelings were way too big to be satisfied with just the joy from such a stunning victory. They could read all that – the obligation to stay just that far and the reason why – one into the other’s eyes, but it was fogged by duties, habit and the will to leave everything exactly as it was till now. Being closer while being so swept away by overwhelming happiness was something they couldn’t afford.

They reached a lifetime goal, together, after half a life of trainings, struggles, long distance, reunions, friendship. It was a deserved prize, but it wasn’t going to be the last one, for sure. Their life had been one hell of a journey. They were still standing, proud and determined, willing to do even better. Just because they were together. Those stars far away in the night sky didn’t feel so out of reach anymore.

That was what Haru thought while staring at them, standing on the soft summer grass in a big park not so far from their hotel. None of them could sleep, after a day like the one that had just ended, so they met in the hallway after dinner and some fun with their team, and just went out for a walk, almost without a word, a faint smile like the one they exchanged after winning as the only way of telling each other that it was ok to spend some lazy time together.

They were literally at loss of words. There wasn’t the need to talk about the race, because the result was enough to say it went really well, so the only way left to shut out those lingering, intense feelings from their hearts was silence or a casual chat at most.

“Next, the Olympics, right?”

Haru smiled with a little “Mh,” nodding at Rin, who was also staring at the sky, his hands in his pockets and a proud grin on his lips. When Rin turned towards him reinforcing that content smile, his own died out a little. All the adrenaline from the day that had just passed did a serious damage to the walls around his heart. He knew he was supposed to stay away, but…

He stepped towards Rin.

Just a little. Just enough to let some of those feelings out, otherwise he was going to explode.

He didn’t even look at him, so he really wondered what kind of face he did in that moment. He maybe just saw him flinch a little, before putting his forehead on his shoulder, doing nothing more.

Their bodies were still distant enough not to touch more than that, their warmth somehow mixed together between them creating a soft barrier that made that little gap more bearable.

The words “Ha-Haru, what--” slipped out of Rin’s mouth, after that unpredictable gesture. They got stopped by a firm “Just stay still a bit,” and Rin obeyed, not moving a muscle. Haru’s arms were resting down, still, like a dead weight. Why was that so disappointing?

Rin’s expression darkened a bit. Haru evidently ended up surrendering, even if just a little, to whatever had been floating around them for quite some time, so far. Couldn’t blame him. That not-even-a-hug was more than overdue, after what they went through. He wanted to hug him so bad, after winning that race, that he really didn’t know why he avoided doing so. There was more, however, than just a missed hug in the look they exchanged in that moment. A hug wasn’t going to cut it. Not even a million hugs.

Looking down, he felt his heart tighten, while he placed his chin on Haru’s shoulder too, smelling the familiar scent of his usual shower gel. The barriers he put between them were torn apart enough already, even without Haru doing such a thing. He had the right to do just as much, right?

Slowly raising his arms, he put his hands on Haru’s back, touching him so lightly he almost wondered if he noticed. He was so warm. He was also so too much to handle.

He couldn’t avoid grabbing his shirt. The need to let some more feelings out of their cage was overwhelming and he wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Sensing Haru giving up as well and just hugging him for good, he buried his face in his T-shirt, shutting his eyelids to stop a couple tears.

Really, few feelings could be better than that.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, they were on a plane leading home. That moment, that night in a foreign country, those long but not long enough minutes they spent in each other’s arms before Haru could liquidate everything with a too normal “Let’s go to sleep” got lost into their daily lives, as if it was nothing in particular, worth mentioning again.

That crazy summer ended, Rin went back to Australia, Skype calls began anew just like before, till snow and Christmas came, along with a well deserved vacation back in their old Iwatobi town.

A nice training session with coach Sasabe scolding them was a sort of welcome back ritual, as well as a nice excuse to meet all their friends who managed to come back there too. Plus, inside pools felt warmer during winter, though not as warm as Haru’s place, where Rin stopped by after they were done swimming.

Speaking about this and that, they nonchalantly went home together, as if following Haru home was taken for granted. Was it? After not meeting in person for about 4 months, spending at least half of their holidays together definitely kind of was. All because of a little bit of nostalgia and that was it.

Even so, just being in the same room was disconcerting.

Rin brought a hand to his forehead with a sigh, leaning to the table in the middle of Haru’s living room. That place was scorching hot because of the kotatsu and another stove already, but he was either burning even more or momentarily freezing for how tense he was.

Feigning ignorance while being far away was a piece of cake. The PC monitor between them was a marvelous and functioning ward. But having to share some space with Haru again especially after that year about to end was frustrating. He could still feel his T-shirt in his hands, he could still feel those few minutes under the night sky in every word and look they exchanged. As far as he was concerned, that moment never ended for real till the day they met again, about a week before.

That was maybe why it felt natural, obvious and surely so spontaneous it was almost involuntary to utter a shy “W-what was… that?” as he heard Haru coming back into the room.

He wasn’t feeling like looking at him, while asking so, but he did anyway, seeing Haru flinch, a wooden tray with two cups of tea in his hands startling just as much, and despite the low lights coming from the kitchen and the corridor so late at noon, he was sure he saw his face open up in surprise and embarrassment, before his friend could conveniently turn away to avoid his gaze.

“N-nothing. Don’t mind it.”

He could almost feel how much Haru’s heart was beating in that moment, even if he was still sat on the floor with Haru standing a few inches away, just a corner of the table separating them. Stubbornly denying the tremendous feelings they had for each other was madness, by now. It was even clearer than day, but they weren’t able to stop. He had always known they were two idiots, but the extent of it started to be evident only – _“only?”_ – around two years before, by the time they entered the national team.

With his question, he now clearly touched an opened wound, or whatever it was, since Haru was now so puzzled his hands were shaking, while he put down the tray on the table. It was almost funny.

About to smile of that, he jumped when Haru’s not so internalized upheaval made him almost drop the cup he was about to give him, ending in some hot tea on his hand.

“Oi!” Rin stood up to rescue him.

“It’s ok!” Haru replied, kneeling down, about to grab the towel he brought with him.

Rin did it before he could, squatting next to him with a resigned sigh. “Here, let me help.”

That said, he took Haru’s hand, gently cleaning it. Haru let him do so, in silence. A slightly red patch was left on the crook between his thumb and his index, but nothing that looked like it needed more treatments than that.

Rin was sincerely checking the amount of damage, when he actually realized he was still holding Haru’s hand. The change of heart between worry and not wanting to let go went unnoticed, really.

Watching those slender fingers, he lightly caressed them with his thumb. An imperceptible movement showed him that even Haru was doing his best not to hold his hand. They were too close and it was too dangerous. Their whole beings were screaming out loud how much they loved each other. Never before it was _this_ clear that they perfectly knew it.

Rin looked up, his face red and confused, just to see Haru staring at him in the same exact state. There was nothing more they could do, at this point.

Tired of thinking any longer, they both got closer, Rin grabbing Haru’s soft sweater, Haru promptly bringing a hand behind Rin’s head.

Just a few millimeters separating them from what they’ve always wanted and the doorbell loudly rang, crushing that surreal moment into pieces.

“Haru, Rin! I dropped by with some fruit!” Makoto’s cheerful voice called, from outside.

Their lips still a breath away, their ordinary life infiltrating between them like a cold breeze, they helplessly stared at each other, lost in an inexplicable feeling of defeat.

To break such an unbearable situation as well as the ice freezing them, not really knowing what else to do, Haru stood up, to get to the door.

“I’m comi-”

But Rin’s refusal to let that precious moment slip away for good promptly grabbed his arm, dragging him down. He fell on the floor, Rin shifting on him and making him lie on his back, and he barely saw his eyes full of desperate desire, before he kissed him, in a tight embrace.

After a second of stupor, Haru clung to him as well, intensely kissing him back, perfectly conscious of Makoto waiting a few steps away, yet really uncaring about making him wait a little more.

They let that long awaited kiss be as deep as it needed to pierce and chain their hearts together for good. Not that they weren’t already. They just needed a sort of ceremony, a ceremony that they voluntarily postponed for quite a while. Even all their friends were probably tired of waiting.

 _Just like Makoto_ , Haru thought, deciding he had to open the door, after all – not to mention he wanted to get out of that situation while he could still control himself – and he stood up grabbing his towel, Rin letting him go, the both of them flushed and with their hearts going crazy.

As he heard Haru greeting Makoto and blatantly lying about a shower to justify his red face and his messy hair, Rin giggled amused, getting up to join him and be ready for the very moment Makoto would have happily seen through it all. That was going to be one hell of a New Year.

**Author's Note:**

> I think I've never written a oneshot this short. Glad to know I can write something shorter than a 20 pages chapter. X°D  
> Thanks for reading!! Also, I love these two idiots. ~♥


End file.
